Memories
by Wind's Gale
Summary: Team Avatar helps to clean up the Western Air Temple while remembering their past battles and experiences before celebrating the end of a long, hard day. Written for Round 7 of the Pro-Bending Circuit.


_A/N: Prompts: Easy- Fireworks, Medium- Western Air Temple, Hard- No names used. Word count: 1,034 words. _

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The Avatar gang was back together once again. The air acolytes had decided to do an annual cleaning of the Western Air Temple island. It was going to be a lot of hard work, but everyone wanted the temple to be preserved for many years to come. Everyone was happy to do their share of work, though. It was joyous occasion and afterwards, they would settle to watch the fireworks to celebrate another year of culture and the end of a long day. For the Avatar gang, it was a trip down memory lane.

The Avatar herself was tasked with cleaning the hall of statues. She had heard about it during her air bending training but she didn't imagine how many statues were actually in the room. Sometimes she found herself staring at some. She wondered if any of the people depicted were past Avatars. Not that she would know right off hand. A pang of guilt struck her heart as she remembered just how much the battle with her uncle cost her. A part of herself was always going to be lost. It was a difficult thing for her to deal with, especially after the experience with the Red Lotus. She found herself thinking about how much it took to get to where she was. She was still alive. She was still the Avatar and she had made great bonds and relationships that would last her entire life, maybe even more than a lifetime. There was a lot of pain and heartache during her journey, but there were a lot of good times too. She smiled, remembering all the support she had during her battles, including her internal ones.

The two brothers helped moved a lot of rubble from the outside of the temple. They were amazed at how much debris piled up over the course of the year, despite the temple hardly being visited. The mess reminded them of when they were living on the streets. Messes were a part of their daily life. Sometimes they'd find clean places to sleep in, but of the times it was dirty and filthy. The older they got, the more they appreciated things like showers and soaps. The fire bender looked back on all the sacrifices he made to make sure his brother was provided for. He had no doubt in his mind that his brother did the same for him. Some nights they went without food but other nights they were lucky enough to go to bed with full bellies. On those nights, their worries disappeared temporarily. They laughed like normal kids. A lot had changed since then. They went from nobodies on the street to part of the Avatar gang. Sometimes they wondered how they even survived all those journeys, but they were happy to be apart of the ride regardless.

The last task was left up to the CEO of Future Industries. She put her mechanical skills to work by doing maintenance work on the doors and other parts of the structures that may need tweaking. It was bittersweet work for her. Tightening bolts reminded her of the time she spent with her father when she was younger. After he mother died, she grew closer to her father. She was daddy's girl. He valued her intelligence and opinion when it came to running the company. He made her feel like she wasn't alone, until the revolution happened. All the pain he caused her flooded back to her but she wasn't angry. It took her a while to cope with what he did to her. All those years, she thought of her father as the perfect man. Loving, caring, willing to do anything for her. Then he betrayed her. From a long time, she saw him as some evil man. The bad guy. The villain. When the letters started coming, she didn't know what to think anymore. It took her a long time to realize that parents were human, even her own. They were mortal and made mistakes like everyone else. After his death, she regretted not realizing it sooner but she couldn't dwell on what could have been. She kept the happy memories close to her. She didn't forget the mistakes he made, though. Mistakes she prayed she'd never make with any future kids she may have.

The day grew long and the group's thoughts became occupied with the past. All the journeys, battles, and internal struggles. Everything lead to where they were right now; Together with friends and loved ones. Even through the hard labor of helping to clean the temple with the air acolytes, they were smiling by the end of the day when they gathered on the cliff on top of the temple. They had a blanket with food and drinks to enjoy while the fireworks went off. Some of the other air acolytes were there as well in their own little parties, celebrating a long day of cleaning and another year of an intact temple. The sun was almost set and they were tired but they had enough energy to enjoy one another's company.

"You guys remember that time we went to that restaurant and they accidentally served us that live squid?" The young earth bender reminisced.

"I certainly couldn't forget. The thing attacked my face." The fire bender replied. Everyone chuckled, sharing random memories that popped into their head. The smiles on their faces turned to grins. Despite all the pain of life, it was moments like these that made it all worthwhile. Spending the evening after a long day with those who stuck by you through it all was the best feeling any of them could have at the moment.

The fireworks started going off and lit up the now dark sky with various patterns and colors. The group was silent as they watched in awe. Everything around them was bursting with colors. They couldn't think of a more perfect way to end the day.

"What do you think will be next for Team Avatar?" The earth bender asked.

"I don't know, but whatever comes at us, we'll handle it. Together." The raven-haired female replied.

"Here's to old memories and the future memories we'll make together."


End file.
